Harmony in Hanok
By Tiara Danarianti
Foreigners may know a little about Seoul, the capital of South Korea where you can find everything ranging from entertainment, tourist attractions and symbols representing modernity such as hectic yet sophisticated transportation to skyscrapers and shopping malls.
However, this city still offers something unique for foreigners who wish to escape from the city madness and learn about Korean culture at the same time in a traditional village full of traditional houses. I am talking about ``hanok,'' Korean traditional house.
Last weekend, I was given a chance by the Korean Tourism Organization to join the Jongno-gu Hanok Homestay Experience Team. It was a program offered to international students in Korea to feel the warmth and charm of hanok by staying there for one night.
There are three main Hanok Villages in Korea in Andong, Jeonju and Jong-no. This time 40 foreign students from various countries stayed at several hanok in Bukchon Hanok Village in Jong-no. Not only did the program provide stays at hanok, it also gave us the opportunity to visit several tourist attractions around the Jong-no area such as Gwanghwamun Art Hall, Buam-dong area and Tteok Museum, allowing us to experience cultural activities, such as learning a Korean mask dance, cooking Korean food, wearing ``hanbok" (traditional Korean clothes) and folk painting.
Hanok are traditional Korean houses that have their own philosophic values. They were built with special considerations to harmony with the surrounding nature. They are not only about setting up a structure, but about building a dwelling place that is nature-friendly, and not just about materials, but also positioning.
The house has to adjust to the land's height, the site's position in relation with surrounding mountains and water sources. Hanok have several characteristics that distinguish the house from other structures.
Hanok's deep eaves shield direct sunlight and can pull down the room temperature in the summer. The foundations block humidity from the floor underneath. Hanok owners used to carve designs into latticework or flower walls in a prayer to wish for blessings or to cast evil off. Hanok have a special traditional heating and cooling system called ``ondol" (under-floor heating system) and ``maru" (wooden floors).
The heat is distributed easily by the wooden floor covering the entire hall. This heating system is even adopted in modern houses. We don't need a bed to sleep on in a hanok. The ``bed'' is more likely a thick yet convenient blanket which makes it easier to feel the warmth of the floor. It makes our body fresh after a night sleeping on it.
Indeed, I felt fresh and recharged after sleeping at the warm hanok. When I came into the house, I was a little surprised because though it looked traditional, the rooms inside was really convenient and quite serene. I was warmly welcomed by the host whose own home was next to the hanok.
The hanok where I stayed was a big guesthouse with rooms that can accommodate 12 people. It was new and well-maintained with antique cabinets and furniture. The most important thing was the fact that the bathroom was really convenient. In the morning, the host prepared homemade Korean traditional food such as ``bulgogi" (beef barbecue) and "japchae" (chop suey). We were so fortunate to enjoy such hospitality.
This experience has widened my knowledge that hanok are another alternative accommodation for tourists who want to experience the Korean cultural atmosphere. By staying in a hanok, visitors can feel the harmony of the hanok and get the bonus of interacting with the Korean host family, which in my opinion is one of the best ways to learn a country's culture ― through its people.
The writer is an Indonesian student from the Universitas Gadjah Mada Yogyakarta currently enrolled in a student exchange program for the spring semester at Chungnam National University. She is pursuing a bachelor's degree in international relations and can be reached at tiaradanarianti@yahoo.com.